Logo

‘Dr. Phil’ Spinoff in the Wings

Oct 7, 2007  •  Post A Comment

“The Doctors,” a spinoff of syndicated hit “Dr. Phil,” is in active development by CBS Television Distribution.
The new syndie show will feature an ensemble of medical experts in various specialties in a round-table discussion of daily topics, a la “The View.”
It’s likely that the doctors will have been regulars on “Dr. Phil.” For example, one doctor being talked about for the new show is Travis Stork, M.D., who has appeared on “Dr. Phil,” but is probably better known for his starring gig on ABC’s reality series “The Bachelor.”
Some of the specialties of the doctors who will make up the panel include an obstetrician/gynecologist, a plastic surgeon, a therapist and a pediatrician. One of Dr. Stork’s specialties is emergency medicine.
“Dr. Phil” itself was a spinoff from CBS Television Distribution and Harpo Productions’ “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” on which Dr. Phil McGraw was a regular guest. “Dr. Phil” currently ranks as the second-highest-rated talk show in syndication, just below “Oprah” at a 4.5 rating, according to Nielsen Media Research.
“The Doctors,” which is its working title, is being developed by Terry Wood, president of development and creative affairs for CBS Television Distribution, and will be sold by Roger King, CEO of the company.
Harpo will not be involved in the “Doctors” project; it’s produced by Stage 29 Productions, run by Dr. McGraw and his son Jay.
“There is always potential for a successful spinoff,” said Bill Carroll, VP and director of programming at Katz Media. “But with the same production team that brought you ‘Dr. Phil,’ it would have to give stations confidence that a new series would be a compelling daytime show. Right now, one of the biggest topics in the country is health and well-being, and this may be an ideal time to pursue a project that focuses on that.”
He said the series likely would succeed best on a traditional station affiliate such as NBC, ABC or CBS, although Fox-owned stations also are candidates for the series.
One key time slot that could be targeted by CBS sales executives could be the 9 a.m. hour on CBS-owned WCBS-TV in New York, the nation’s largest market, which is currently running repeats of “Entertainment Tonight” and “The Insider.”
Furthermore, CBS Television Distribution has triggered the first part of a deal with Ashton Kutcher’s production company Katalyst for “Tube,” a comedy-meets-reality half-hour strip. The series, to be hosted by comedian Orny Adams, will feature viral videos from around the country mixed with comedy bits and sketches.
As a half-hour comedy, the series most likely would be targeting time slots occupied by stalled sitcoms in late fringe time periods from 10 p.m. to midnight, according to sources.
Katalyst, the company behind series including “Beauty and the Geek” and “Punk’d,” completed a deal with CBS earlier in the year that gives the distributor a first look at projects in development.
Mr. Adams is a comedy writer and standup comic from Boston who has appeared on “The Tonight Show With Jay Leno” and “Late Night With David Letterman.” He was the subject of the 2002 documentary feature “Comedian” with Jerry Seinfeld.
Among other new series being readied for next fall are the daytime version of NBC Universal’s “Deal or No Deal” hosted by Howie Mandel (see story, Page 6) and a talk show featuring Bonnie Hunt from Warner Bros. and Telepictures, both of which have already been sold to NBC Universal-owned stations. In addition, Twentieth Television appears to be moving forward with a talk show involving Steve Harvey.

49 Comments

  1. Dr. Phil is the 2nd highest rated? Ohmigod! If that many pinheads are watching this creep our country is in deeper trouble than I thought.

  2. They should invite a controversial female doctor to make the show more interesting. I just heard a doc talk by just such a personality – a professor of endocrinology (Dr. Jerilynn Prior) who is quite outspoken about the proper treatment of women in menopause and perimenopause who has quite a following. She started her own research centre, the Centre for Menstrual Cycle and Ovulation Research – a definite missing piece from Dr. Phil and company.

  3. Some time ago I wrote about my now 29 year old son. I have watched your show over all of the other daytime options, and enjoy it. However, I do feel ignored in the fact that I was not ever given as much as an email response.
    We are going through a crisis that I have never seen addressed on the show.
    My son, Josh, suffers debilitating migrains as the result of a rear end collision over 2 years ago. After every conceivable treatment, he is on 20 pills a day that only enables him to get out of bed. Any physical activity throws him into an unmanageable migrain. (his migrains are present 24/7)
    Understanding that your show is about ratings, maybe we can help each other. Where others have failed, you may be able to direct Josh and other brain trauma victims to the relief they seek.
    I look forward to your response.
    Patti Trenhaile

  4. please don’t take the doctors off tv. we have learned alot listening to them.I look forward to their show everyday.di

  5. Hello you it´s just I totally like your blog, i wuold be glad if i could post a adorable review on this wordpress site in this little would you grant me permission to? Diabetic Socks is my main interest.

  6. Hands down, Apple’s app store wins by a mile. It’s a huge selection of all sorts of apps vs a rather sad selection of a handful for Zune. Microsoft has plans, especially in the realm of games, but I’m not sure I’d want to bet on the future if this aspect is important to you. The iPod is a much better choice in that case.

  7. Between me and my husband we’ve owned more MP3 players over the years than I can count, including Sansas, iRivers,

  8. I’ll gear this review to 2 types of people: current Zune owners who are considering an upgrade, and people trying to decide between a Zune and an iPod. (There are other players worth considering out there, like the Sony Walkman X, but I hope this gives you enough info to make an informed decision of the Zune vs players other than the iPod line as well.)

  9. Ice hockey is an interesting exercise, I like it.

  10. Neat blog layout! Very easy on the eyes.. i like the colors you picked out

  11. Kudos to you! This is a really good blog here and I love your style of writing. How did you get so good at blogging?

  12. Interesting layout on your blog. I really enjoyed reading it and also I will be back to read more in the future.

  13. I love the way you write and also the theme on your blog. Did you code this yourself or was it done by a professional? I’m very very impressed.

  14. Kudos to you! This is a really good blog here and I love your style of writing. How did you get so good at blogging?

  15. This is good info! Where else can if ind out more?? Who runs this joint too? Keep up the good work 🙂

  16. Way to focus and straight to your point, i love it. Keep up the work people. Dont let anyone stop us bloggers.

  17. Wow, amazing blog layout! How long have you been blogging for? you make blogging look easy.

  18. I really like the colors here on your blog. did you design this yourself or did you outsource it to a professional?

  19. This is good info! Where else can if ind out more?? Who runs this joint too? Keep up the good work 🙂

  20. have been reading your blog for several days. absolutely love your posts. by the way i’m doing study relating to this issue. do you happen to know other sites or perhaps online forums in which I can learn more? thanks a lot.

  21. Nice!! Great Ifo. Great People. Great Blog. Thank you for all the great sharing that is being done here.

  22. This is the best blog I’ve ever seen in my life! I really appreciate you taking the time out of your busy day to share your this with everyone.

  23. Wow, amazing blog layout! How long have you been blogging for? you make blogging look easy.

  24. Love this blog.

  25. This is good info! Where else can if ind out more?? Who runs this joint too? Keep up the good work 🙂

  26. Wow, amazing blog layout! How long have you been blogging for? you make blogging look easy.

  27. Love this blog.

  28. You must know by now, your article goes to the nitty-gritty of the subject. Your clarity leaves me wanting to know more. Just so you know, i will immediately grab your feed to keep up to date with your online blog. Sounding Out thanks is simply my little way of saying great job for a remarkable resource. Accept my nicest wishes for your next post.

  29. You make blogging look like a walk in the park! I’ve been trying to blog daily but I just cant find writing material.. you’re an inspiration to me and i’m sure many others!

  30. I agree with your thoughts here and I really love your blog! I’ve bookmarked it so that I can come back & read more in the future.

  31. I like your blog.

  32. Interesting thoughts here. I appreciate you taking the time to share them with us all. It’s people like you that make my day 🙂

  33. Nice!! Great Ifo. Great People. Great Blog. Thank you for all the great sharing that is being done here.

  34. I went over this web site and I believe you have a lot of fantastic information, saved to fav (:.

  35. I like your blog.

  36. I love the expression. Everyone needs to express there own opinion and feel free to hear others. Keep it up 🙂

  37. I am extremely impressed with your writing skills and also with the layout on your blog. Is this a paid theme or did you customize it yourself? Either way keep up the nice quality writing, it’s rare to see a nice blog like this one these days.. 🙂

  38. Great blog!! You should start many more. I love all the info provided. I will stay tuned 🙂

  39. Keep focusing on your blog. I love how we can all express our feelings. This is an extremely nice blog here 🙂

  40. Hey how are you doing? I just wanted to stop by and say that it’s been a pleasure reading your blog. I have bookmarked your website so that I can come back & read more in the future as well. plz do keep up the quality writing

  41. Nice blog subject. thanks for letting me add something!

  42. I certainly admire your design. Would it be possible you could contact me with your graphic?

  43. This is a wonderful post. I enjoyed the information lot. I share it on my facebook.Thanks for sharing this important information.

  44. Insightful website=) I am going to want some time to entertain your content.

  45. Keep focusing on your blog. I love how we can all express our feelings. This is an extremely nice blog here 🙂

  46. Great submit, the first a single I’ve witnessed that clearly outlines all the minor points which are so usually brushed more than. patio store

  47. Nice!! Great Ifo. Great People. Great Blog. Thank you for all the great sharing that is being done here.

  48. My partner and I stumbled over here by a different page and thought I may as well check things out. I like what I see so now i am following you. Look forward to looking at your web page yet again.

  49. Exhaustively flippant and dissimulation with the end of days

Leave a Reply to Deck Canopies Cancel Reply

Email (will not be published)